Legal news affects our everyday lives, whether we notice it or not. Here’s a summary of a few of this month’s major cases.
U.S. Jury Says Bayer Must Pay $80 Million to Man in Roundup Cancer Trial
In the latest legal setback for Bayer, a man claiming the use of Roundup caused his cancer was awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages after finding that Roundup was defectively designed, and Monsanto failed to warn of the herbicide’s cancer risk. This is only the second of more than 11,200 Roundup lawsuits set to go to trial in the United States.
Judge Blocks Medicaid Work Requirements in Kentucky & Arkansas
A federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s approval of plans by Kentucky and Arkansas to impose work requirements on people seeking Medicaid health insurance benefits. The Department of Health and Human Services approved eight states, including Kentucky and Arkansas, to impose requirements that people seeking coverage under Medicaid engage in work or job training. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that HHS failed to consider the extent of people who would lose coverage.
Unvaccinated Kentucky Student Files Suit Against Health Department
A Kentucky high school student has filed a lawsuit after he was banned from playing basketball because he is not vaccinated. The teen filed suit against Northern Kentucky Health Department after a ban was placed on students without vaccines. The school district banned the students from participating in sports and then from attending school during a chickenpox outbreak. The lawsuit alleges the ban “was motivated and put in place to punish the parishioners at Assumption and at the school, for their vaccination beliefs, and not due to an actual concern for public health.”
Louisville Clinic Faces Another Lawsuit Over Drugs Given to Patient
The lawsuit was filed by a patient of 25 Again who says she was given a weight-loss drug banned by the federal government. The patient was given the drug in conjunction with a 700-calorie a day diet, which the FDA says can be dangerous and potentially fatal. The lawsuit follows an earlier wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic alleging it repeatedly administered testosterone to a man, causing his death.
New Jersey Jury Finds J&J Not Liable in Talc Cancer Trial
Johnson & Johnson is facing some 13,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide. The company was cleared in NJ and settled cases in CA, OK, and NY last week.
Class Claims Filed by Rejected Applicants in College Admissions Scandal
A group of parents and current university students filed class claims in federal court against the perpetrators of recent elite college admission cheating scandals, in addition to naming several of the involved schools as defendants. Plaintiffs allege that as a result of the two fraudulent college-admission schemes, unqualified students were unfairly accepted to highly selective universities, while students who had higher test scores and more impressive athletic records were denied admission.
Connecticut Supreme Court Allows Sandy Hook Lawsuit Against Remington To Move Forward
The Connecticut Supreme Court revived a lawsuit filed against Remington Arms; the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. In overturning a lower court’s decision, the high court ruled that Remington can be sued over its marketing practices and that the plaintiffs should have the opportunity to prove that Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) by marketing a military-style weapon to civilians.
Supreme Court Rejects Zappos Appeal in Data Breach Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal in a data breach lawsuit filed against shoe retailer Zappos. The Amazon company sought the appeal of a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that said the lawsuit should continue because the 2012 data breach left customers vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. The lawsuit was filed by customers who say their information was misused following the breach.
Our attorneys at McCoy, Hiestand & Smith strive to keep our community informed so check back with us monthly for a Legal News Update!
